[INTRO] Well, this isn't what he expected to wake up to.

[mxmorizethis]

 Within the first few minutes of waking up, he's actually under the impression he's exactly where he fell asleep; specifically a couch in the Radiant Garden castle's library, since 'home' is currently inaccessible and he's too embarrassed to actually ask about a room. And then he actually finishes shaking the sleep out of his head, and realizes that no, this isn't Radiant Garden.

"What the..." He mutters, sliding off the couch to poke around the place. Well, this is...well. "How'd I get here?" 

After a while, he decides the library is boring (mostly because it seems like all the books are either filled with writing in stuff that doesn't look like any language he's seen, or blank), and exits, wandering down the hall in the direction of the graveyard (though to be honest he just chose at random).

Said graveyard is incredibly eerie, and somehow sad; it reminds him of Proof of Existence in the old Castle, silent, nameless tombstones the only mark that any of them had ever been. The bird bones crunch too loudly beneath his boots, and he shudders, stopping underneath a tree to look around again. 

"Where is this place?" He mutters, leaning against said tree with his arms crossed, a scarecrow-swathe of black coat topped with a mop of bright crimson hair, lost in enough thought that he doesn't really notice if anyone else is with him.

Comments

[dustless]

After a while, he might spot a small child in a striped shirt and green scarf peering at him around a tombstone.

He looks a little intimidating--though Frisk has definitely seen far worse--but that hair is almost comically bright and rather distracting from his cloak-looking thing. He's little more obvious than the second Chara had been, and they're the only reason they check around here every so often, just in case there's somebody new.

"...The sky," they pipe up if he notices them.

[mxmorizethis]

He jumps at the small voice that pipes up from a tombstone, and for a moment he crazily thinks its the stone itself that just talked. He's seen weirder, after all. But no, there's a kid there, small and tiny and there's a pinch in his heart because he's very small and unassuming, a little like Ienzo. (Well, er, how he had been once upon a time.)

"The sky?" He asks, tilting his head curiously, and approaching the boy slowly, crouching a little ways off to be a little less threatening. "Wow, really? Never been in a floating castle before. Well, not one like this, at least." He smiles. "It's nice to see I'm not alone, actually, I was a bit worried!"

He offers a hand. "What's your name, kiddo?" He asks. "Name's Lea. Got it memorized?"

[dustless]

They're not actually a boy--they'd be mildly taken aback being called such after so much time--but since he hasn't said that aloud, their impression of him is immediately positive. Friendly right off the bat. Nice.

...probably. There's a touch of caution when Frisk steps forward, but they barely hesitate in taking his hand to give a firm shake.

"Won't forget! Usually good with remembering names. I'm Frisk. You've been in castles where you come from?"

[mxmorizethis]

He shakes Frisk's hand -- wow, the kid has a good shake on them -- and smiles. "Nice to meet you, Frisk." It's a bit of an odd name, but he's heard stranger, and this kid seems...he's not sure, but they remind him of someone. Not a bad thing.

"Yeah, a couple, actually," he says, sitting back a bit. "Lessee...one where I'm from, I lived in another for a while, and while I've traveled I've seen a bunch," he explains. "But none were really like this. It's...pretty different. For example, like...the whole waking up here without actually, y'know, knowing how I got here thing."

He chuckles to himself, shaking his head. "Have you been here a while, Frisk?" He asks them. It might be nice to get some more information about this place, after all.

[dustless]

They've had practice. With skeletons!

"Wow. Never saw one before here. You a prince?"

And, right. Time for explanations. Or trying them. "Don't think anybody's used to that. Been here for...I dunno. Months. Everybody just...woke up here, nobody's sure why. From lots of worlds and timelines. And--some of them are monsters, but they're good monsters, please don't fight them." That is very important.

[mxmorizethis]

"A prince?" He blinks, and then laughs, shaking his head. "No, no, I wish. That would have been cool. I was just from the town around the castle, that's all." Boy, being the prince of Radiant Garden would have been...super weird. Super, duper weird.

He listens to the explanation -- he knows he should feel a bit scared that the kid has been here for months already, since he has things he needs to be doing, but if this place is a time/space...whatever (he isn't good at science), then maybe when it lets him leave he'll be right back when he left. Maybe. If. Eh, too much to worry about.

He smiles, though. "Good monsters?" He repeats. "That sounds pretty cool. Don't worry, Frisk, I won't fight anyone." Unless they start it. But he has a feeling no one would...right?

[dustless]

Hey, they've met a couple Asriels here. No assumption is too wild. "You look like you might be. Or a guard." His clothes are strange, but they certainly make him look important.

Frisk nods and bounces in place a little. "Thanks. They make great friends." And this guy looks human and would probably be able to hurt them easily, but they don't care to mention that part.

They point a thumb back over towards the castle. "'S a lot nicer in there than here. Even if the rooms move around sometimes."

[mxmorizethis]

"Well, my dad was a castle guard," he says with a laugh. "So that kinda works, I guess." Him, a castle guard? That might have been nice once upon a time, but not anymore. Too much had happened.

He chuckles and shakes his head, smiling at the kid. "The rooms move around, huh? I visited a castle sort of like that, once. I didn't like it very much, but this castle seems a bit nicer than that one. That one was..." Terrifying? Mm. This one's just...quiet. "What kinds of rooms are there here? I saw a library while I was looking around, but that can't be it if we're supposed to stay here," he asks them. They were pretty friendly, after all, and he could use a run-down if he was stuck here for a while.

With them and their friendly monsters, that is.

[dustless]

The mental image they get is a weird human, male Undyne. With red hair. Frisk is grateful they're as good at keeping a straight face as they are.

"Really? Nobody waking up here's known about stuff like that. Was it floating? How'd you get there?" They bounce in place a little, excited about whatever he'll answer in advance. "And--lots of bedrooms, mostly. The ballroom doesn't move, but there's stuff in the cakes, jewels and necklaces and stuff you can hurt your teeth on if you're not careful. The gardens are always in the middle of everything. And there's a tower with a lot of birds in it!"

[notsogrimreaper]

"Now, that's a complicated question."

Ryoji couldn't help but notice the other person wandering around the graveyard. Honestly, anything to take his mind off of the bodies that must be buried here. He can almost sense them under the ground, and it makes him feel a little sick.

A newcomer, or who he assumes to be a newcomer from that question, is a lot more interesting. So there's no a gangly teenager standing before the stranger, smiling softly.

"I guess the best answer would be in some place between worlds."

[mxmorizethis]

He jumps, startled -- wow, where had his situational awareness gone? He hadn't even noticed the teenager. Well, until now, since he was talking to him. He tries to regain some of his dignity, scratching his head and chuckling, 'til he realizes what was said and groans.

"Between worlds?" He asks. "Oh, great, really?" It was like the World That Never Was, then. Some kind of between-place, only prettier and with less creepy cults. "I've been somewhere similar before, but it was nothing like this," he says with a sigh. "But that doesn't explain how I got here."

He grins crookedly, crossing his arms. "Good to know that I'm not the only one here, at least," he adds. "That would have made it so much creepier."

[notsogrimreaper]

"Well, that's the explanation I have..."

He does notice the stranger is more annoyed than confused, and that makes Ryoji crook an eyebrow until he hears Lea continue speaking.

"You've been somewhere similar? That's different. Not a lot of people have been to other worlds, so..." He shrugs.

"None of us really know how we got here. We've all kind of been tugged here without any explanation. I know a couple people are trying to figure it out, but they haven't had a huge amount of luck. But you're right. You're not the only one here. So no need to freak out!"

He offers a warm smile and a slight bow. "My name's Ryoji Mochizuki, by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you."

[mxmorizethis]

"It's kinda...part of my job? To travel to other worlds," he explains, though he doesn't give many more details than that. There's meddling, and there's meddling. And...well, he does try to do right on occasion. "But this one's new."

He listens, tilting his head, and then shrugs. "I figured that when I woke up in the library around here," he says. "I might give 'em a hand if I run into any of them; I might be able to give some help. Eh, though, we'll see. In the meantime you're right. Long as I'm not alone I think I can deal."

He smiles back, offering a hand. "Nice to meet you, Ryoji," he says. "Name's Lea; got it memorized?"

[notsogrimreaper]

"Hm, that's... a little odd. I mean, not many people could say the same."

Ryoji technically could, if he wanted to, but... he's hoping that since he's arrived here, he won't have to carry out that duty ever again.

"Ah, that's kind of you. There's a skeleton named Sans who's working on that... and someone else, but he's been kind of ill lately. Still, worth at least introducing yourself. If nothing else, you'll have a few more friends here."

He kind of stares at the hand for a moment before he realizes he's supposed to shake it.

"Nice to meet you, Lea-san. Don't worry, I'm pretty good with names."

[lostinmyway]

Grune makes sure to visit the graveyard every few days. She doesn't know anyone who's staying in there, but that's all right. She's sure they would want visitors anyway.

Today, it's time to bring fresh flowers to the graves; the ones she had left earlier had been starting to wilt the last time she was there (or was it the time before?). And so she comes with a basket of flowers she picked from her garden, ready to change new for old.

She's so preoccupied with stepping around the bird bones, making sure she doesn't break a single one, that she doesn't notice she has company.

[mxmorizethis]

He's pretty lost in thought for a while; staring at the gravestones and torn on whether to get the heck out of here or stay a while longer. But movement startles him, and he shifts to look.

He's sure as hell surprised to see a woman there, laying flowers for the nameless gravestones -- it makes him smile, though; someone's kind enough, at lest, to remember the forgotten. He watches her a while, before stepping forward from his spot under a tree.

"Hey there," he says, lifting a hand in greeting. "I didn't know anyone else was here."

[lostinmyway]

Grune gives a little wave with her free hand and smiles. "Oh, yes, I'm here, too."

A few more steps, and she's able to walk without having to worry about hurting any of the bones.

"Did you come to visit everyone?"

[mxmorizethis]

"So you are," he says, smiling back. She seems a bit...he's not sure. He wants to say ditzy but he hasn't spoken to her long enough for that, so maybe? Hm.

He holds up his hand and waves back, before putting his hands in his pockets. "I guess?" He replies to her question. "I wasn't really paying much attention to where I was going, but when I got here...I figured I'd stay a while."

(He doesn't like the thought of the graves being here unnoticed; someone needs to remember them.)

[lostinmyway]

That makes her smile grow. "Oh, my, that's very sweet of you."

She comes to a stop behind him, then says, "My name is Grune. What's your name?"

[mxmorizethis]

"Mm, I guess?" He says, smiling faintly. "I just don't like feelin' like all these guys were forgotten, whoever they were. Being forgotten's not that great."

He turns to look at her and offers his hand when she introduces himself. "Nice to meet you, Grune," he says. "I'm Lea; got it memorized?"

[lostinmyway]

"Hmm.... I think so."

She takes his hand with her own callused one and gives it a firm shake. "It's very nice to meet you, too!"

[sansational]

Most of the people who have woken up in the graveyard have been some sort of dangerous, and Sans is including himself in this. So by rights, he should probably stay away from it. And yet, just from another way of looking at it, he's also the best person to keep checking it for new people. If someone new and dangerous turns up, he wants to be able to know right off the bat instead of when he wake up from another nap.

So his soul falters a little with dread when he sees an unfamiliar silhouette visible through the graveyard's perpetual mists. But at least they're not crying, at least not that he can hear.

"yo!" he calls out, when he's still a reasonable distance away. If he sees them look over at him, Sans will lift his hand in a wave. "you know there are cheerier places to hang out around here, right?"